Noble Sacrifice
by KleopatraSelene
Summary: It was a selfless act he promised himself he would never regret, but when it came to a certain young girl, he felt a pang in his heart at the thought of never being able to see her smiling face.


**The idea for this story came quite randomly, in my gym class we did a blindfolded activity and as I was walking around, disoriented as could be, I thought that this might have been how Chocolove felt during his first few days as a blind person. And then that idea developed into this story. **

**Hope you enjoy ^_^**

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><p>Bird softly chirped in the background and the sound of waves crashing against the stone shore could be heard in the distance. Without these crucial signs, he wouldn't be able to tell that it was morning. In the background, he could hear Horohoro's not so quite snores, telling him that it was still quite early in the day. Pushing the covers off his body, he sat up and felt around his nightstand for his glasses. It wouldn't be long before Ren busted back into the room, demanding that they both wake up, so he thought he might as well get up anyway.<p>

On his way to the bathroom, he accidentally tripped over a shirt left lying on the floor, most likely by Horohoro, considering Ren would never approve of a messy room. But besides that small incident, the short walk was uneventful, just like he wanted. He could get around their apartment just fine. He had lived there long enough to remember when to turn and how many steps to take in order to not bump into anything or trip over any piece of furniture. For these simple tasks, he didn't need Pascal and Mic to help him, or rather, he didn't want them to help him. He wanted to prove that he was still as functional as before his death, although he wasn't quite sure who he wanted to prove this to, his team or himself. After brushing his teeth, he looked into the mirror above, a habit that he had yet to break. The glass felt cold underneath his fingers as he placed his palm on the mirror. He couldn't help but wonder how he looked now, had his features matured after his trip to Hell, or did nothing about his appearance change?

"Dude, you almost done?" He sensed Horohoro standing in doorway from the way his voice echoed off the tiled walls.

"Ya. It's all yours."

"By the way, sorry about the shirt, I threw it on the floor last night without thinking."

He must have heard him trip, that's probably what woke him up. "It's fine."

Back in the bedroom, he rummaged through the small closet that all members of team The Ren shared, feeling each item of clothing in order to discern which ones belonged to him. He didn't need help dressing; before his death, he could complete this simple task without even paying attention to his actions. As he was buttoning up his shirt, he could feel Pascal's eyes on him, watching his new master in case he required his assistance, something Chocolove tried to keep to a minimum.

But when he turned around and began to search for his shoes, Pascal couldn't help but speak up, "The bottom buttons are askew."

Stopping his search, he touched the white buttons, trying to place them in their proper place without messing up any of the other ones. After a few moments of fidgeting, Pascal stopped him, telling him that they looked fine now. Chocolove wouldn't admit it, but simple messes ups such as these often got on his nerves, but he pushed them aside and continued his, believing that every other blind person had the same problems, or maybe bigger ones.

Once he found his shoes and put them on, he told Horohoro that he would be at the Patch Diner, and walked out of the apartment building. And just like before, he didn't need his guardians' assistance. He had traveled this road every morning for the past few months, more than enough for him to remember the way by heart. He paid close attention to his surrounding; after Lady Sati grated his request, he had found that with the loss of one sense, his others greatly increased, especially his hearing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary today; it was quite peaceful in the small village, probably because it was still too early in the morning for most shamans to be awake.

The Patch Diner's atmosphere held the same calmness; not many people were present this morning. Chocolove and Ren ate breakfast together like most other days, both silent, just enjoying each other's company. Even thought they put up a façade of playful hatred, the two shamans actually cared deeply about each other, especially after the horrific few days he had spent without his teammate, fearing that he would never be able to pick fights with him again or tell his dry jokes to the one person that actually showed some sort of emotion to them. But that was all behind them now; Ren was back, Chocolove was back, and team The Ren was stronger and closer than ever. On the day he returned, Ren even told him that he admired his noble sacrifice, a simple gesture that Chocolove took to heart, knowing that it would be a while before he would receive another compliment from the harsh, Chinese shaman.

Today, there were no fights, giving all the shamans a day to relax before the tournament continued again tomorrow with a match between teams Nyorai and Haiti 800. Team The Ren spent the day like they usually did, training with Pascal for the most part and relaxing at night. Ever since he had returned from his training in hell, he felt like a different person, much stronger and more focused. But his most prized lesson he learned in hell was about just retribution. Someday, maybe not now, but surely later, he would have to pay for the sins he committed. He realized that becoming blind was not the solution, but it was part of it.

That night, he spent it just like he had for the past month, trying to mend the vast gap that he created between himself and Munzer children. At the beginning, they were very reluctant to spend even one moment with the ex-gang member, but Mikihisa urged them to at least give him a chance. Chocolove could always feel his presence nearby; he loved the two children dearly, and Chocolove found his company soothing, knowing that if anything happened he would be there to help. The first few days had been an unimaginable struggle, and even though they had agreed to give Chocolove a chance to redeem himself, they barely spoke or showed any sign of interest in what he had to say, but as the nights drew on, they slowly began to warm up to him.

There was nothing in the world he wanted to do more than make Seyram laugh, but so far, he hadn't been very successful; it seemed like the young girl had shut herself from the world forever, never wanting to show another emotion beside emptiness ever again. It made Chocolove's heart ache to know that it was his fault; that this once bubbly and cheerful child was now miserable because of him, and he would go to hell and back again if that would tear down the sky high walls she had build around her heart.

However, Redseb was another story; despite being extremely protective of his sister, he would laugh at most of his jokes, giving Chocolove a glimmer of hope that he would be able to get through to the girl one day. He made it his goal to make her smile and laugh, and he promised himself that he would never give up until she was once again the happiest girl in the whole world.

That night, he worked Redseb up into a fit of laughter with his play on words about the members of team Funbari Onsen. He had never seen the young boy this happy, and he was more than a bit glad that he had decided to give him a second chance and began to trust him, even if only a little bit. But what surprised him most that night was the sound he heard next, a soft giggle, almost inaudible, but not to Chocolove's sensitive ears. He broke out into a wide grin, unable to contain his excitement. Seyram had laughed at his joke, one that he was debating on telling because he thought it was dumb, but maybe that's why she laughed; because it was so stupid sounding. But either way, he couldn't be happier.

At that moment, all the things he missed about his vision were gone. He did not care that he had to rely more on his guardians and teammates to get around; he did not care that he had to hide his eyes behind black glasses, and he did not care that he would never be able to enjoy the beauty of nature again. He would give all of that up and more for that beautiful sound he had just heard from the young girl. But the only thing that he missed about his vision was the fact that he would never to able to see her smile.

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><p><strong>So what did you think? <strong>


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